Q: When my husband developed a leg infection, his physician prescribed the wrong antibiotic. The insurance company, recognizing the mistake, refused to cover the prescription’s $573 cost. But I had already filled it, and my husband had taken a dose. I think our doctor should reimburse us. (The correct treatment for this common infection was immediately prescribed by two other doctors.) My husband demurs. You? — Name Withheld, Los Angeles

A: A patient may well have to bear some cost and inconvenience when a doctor is imperfect, but in this case, the doctor should take responsibility, including financial responsibility, for his error. Then, if he so chooses, he should seek reimbursement from his insurer.

This is not to demand omniscient physicians or mistake-proof medicine. Everyone is fallible. An employer must accept small shortcomings, even when they create expenses in money or time. It is reasonable for an insurer to curb unnecessary costs; it is unreasonable to stick the patient or the physician with the bill for anything short of perfection.

But acknowledging human fallibility does not mean abandoning all professional standards. Here, the doctor appears to have demonstrated more than ordinary fallibility. If this was, as it seems, a genuine blunder, then it is the blunderer who must bear its cost.

Update: Acknowledging his error, the doctor agreed to waive all future fees up to the amount of the erroneous prescription.

Q: A friend asked me to oversee her small restaurant while she was on vacation, emphasizing my being her eyes and ears. Well, those eyes saw $80 in cash paid to a server who neither put the money in the register nor filed the check. May I settle this with the server discreetly, or must I tell the owner? Isn’t resolving this quietly the righteous path, one that gives my friend peace of mind? —Name Withheld, New York

A: You agreed to be your friend’s eyes and ears: You may not willfully go blind and deaf. What you call “resolving” the situation I call covering up wrongdoing, a curious way to give your friend peace of mind.

You pledged to tell your friend what went on in her absence; you must do so. Even if the $80 were returned, your friend should be told that an employee might be untrustworthy. It is for her to determine if that server was careless or criminal.

Update: The letter writer had a quiet word with the server, who returned the money. He then told his friend, “You might want to pay extra attention to this worker,” offering no further details. His friend was content with this report.